Agnes and the Hitman

Agnes Crandall's life goes awry when a dognapper invades her kitchen one night, seriously hampering her attempts to put on a wedding that she's staked her entire net worth on. Then a hero climbs through her bedroom window. His name is Shane - no last name, just Shane - and he has his own problems.

Maybe This Time

When Andie tries to gain closure with her ex-husband, he asks one final favor of her. A distant cousin has died and left North the guardian of two orphans. When Andie meets the two children, she realizes the situation is much worse than she feared. Carter and Alice aren’t your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. Complicating matters is Andie’s fiancé’s suspicion that this is all a plan by North to get Andie back.

Fast Women

Nell Dysart's in trouble. Her divorce is 18 months old, she's been sleepwalking through life, and the best job she can get is with a detective agency that specializes in relationship work. Determined to turn her life around, Nell flings herself into making McKenna Investigations a better place.

Faking It

Reformed art forger Tilda Goodnight reluctantly joins forces with semi-reformed con man Davy Dempsey. They want to steal a dubious painting and several million embezzled dollars from a lethal widow named Clea, who has targeted a mild-mannered art collector as her next dearly departed. Complications include her sister, the female impersonator; his best friend, the reformed cat burglar; a recidivist embezzler named Rabbit; a hit man; some lousy sex; and a juke box.

Dogs and Goddesses

Abby has just arrived in Summerville, Ohio, with her placid Newfoundland, Bowser. She's reluctantly inherited her grandmother's coffee shop, but it's not long before she's brewing up trouble in the form of magical baked goods and steaming up her life with an exasperating college professor. And then there's Daisy, a Web-code writer, and her hyperactive Jack Russell, Bailey. Her tightly wound world spins out of control when she discovers the chaos within and meets a mysterious dog trainer.

What the Lady Wants

Mitch Peabody was learning pretty fast that the life of a private detective was nothing like the movies. He’d envisioned a world of tough-talking detectives and smart-mouthed, stunning dames. Instead he saw case after case of cheating husbands, suspicious wives and unsuspecting mistresses…until she walked through the door.

Bet Me

Min Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Cal Morrisey knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again. But Fate has other plans.

Trust Me on This

Dennie Banks is an investigative reporter chasing down the biggest story of her career. Alec Prentice is a government agent working undercover to catch an elusive grifter. When they meet by accident, it’s a case of mistaken identities at first sight. What they don’t mistake is the instant attraction they have for each other, an attraction they’ll do everything in their power to resist - because Dennie thinks that Alec is running interference for her interview subject, and Alec suspects that Dennie is linked to his swindler. As the confusion grows, so do their feelings for each other....

Manhunting

Kate Svenson is attractive, successful, a brilliant businesswoman - and miserable. After three failed engagements, she realizes it's time for a PLAN...an organized, detailed agenda with a clear goal: finding Mr. Right.

Charlie All Night

Dumped by her boyfriend and demoted from WBBB's prime-time spot, radio producer Allie McGuffey has nowhere to go but up. She plans to make her comeback by turning temporary DJ Charlie Tenniel into a household name. And if he's willing to help cure her breakup blues with a rebound fling, that's an added bonus.

The Cinderella Deal

Daisy Flattery is a free spirit with a soft spot for strays and a weakness for a good story. Why else would she agree to the outrageous charade offered by her buttoned-down workaholic neighbor, Linc Blaise? The history professor needs to have a fiancée in order to capture his dream job, and Daisy is game to play the role. But something funny happens on their way to the altar that changes everything.

Getting Rid of Bradley

Lucy Savage is not having a good week. Her cheating husband, Bradley, lobbed the final insult when he stood her up in divorce court. A dye job gone wrong has left her hair green. And someone is trying to kill her. To top it off, sexy cop Zack Warren is certain that the very same man Lucy is trying to wash right out of her hair is the same Bradley he wants to arrest for embezzlement. When someone shoots at her and then her car blows up, Zack decides she needs 24-hour police protection.

Anyone But You

Ignoring her insistent best friend, some interfering do-gooders, and the ubiquitous dog Fred - not to mention her suddenly raging hormones - 40-year-old Nina thinks anyone but Alex would be a better bet for a relationship. But the more silver-haired stiffs she dates, the more she suspects it's the young dog-loving doctor she wants to sit and stay!

Strange Bedpersons

Tess Newhart knows her ex-boyfriend, Nick Jamieson, isn't the right guy for her. He's caviar and champagne; she's take-out Chinese pot stickers. He's an uptight Republican lawyer; she was raised in a commune and thinks Cinderella is politically incorrect. He wants to get ahead in business; she just wants him - only not the social-climbing Nick, but the sweet, caring, unbuttoned-down Nick.

The Werewolf's Christmas Wish: A Nocturne Falls Short

Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town where Halloween is celebrated 365 days a year. The tourists think it's all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better.

First Star I See Tonight: A Novel

Piper Dove is a woman with a dream - to become the best detective in the city of Chicago. First job? Trail former Chicago Stars quarterback Cooper Graham. Problem? Graham's spotted her, and he's not happy. Which is why a good detective needs to think on her feet. "The fact is...I'm your stalker. Not full-out barmy. Just...mildly unhinged."

The Vampire's Valentine Surprise: A Nocturne Falls Short

Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year. When Delaney Ellingham enters the Nocturne Falls Valentine's Day Bake-Off, she has no idea that an old rival will create such havoc. Her husband, Hugh, and her friends all come to her aid, but even they can't guess the surprise that lies in store.

The Witch's Halloween Hero: A Nocturne Falls Short

Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year. The tourists think it's all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better. When a spell goes wrong on the night of Samhain for witch Corette Williams, her only hope is the man she loves, Bartholomew Stanhill. But time is running out.

Publisher's Summary

Mary Alice Brannigan doesn’t believe in the supernatural. Nor does she expect to find that Dreamland, the decaying amusement park she’s been hired to restore, is a prison for the five Untouchables, the most powerful demons in the history of the world. Plus, there’s a guy she’s falling hard for, and there’s something about him that’s not quite right.

But rocky romances and demented demons aren’t the only problems in Dreamland: Mab’s also coping with a crooked politician, a supernatural raven, a secret government agency, an inexperienced sorceress, an unsettling inheritance, and some mind-boggling revelations from her past.

As her personal demons wreck her newfound relationship, and real demons wreck the park, Mab faces down immortal evil and discovers what everybody who’s ever been to an amusement park knows: The end of the ride is always the wildest.

Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer are great together -the characters are quirky and interesting, the action is exciting and the storyline is always the unexpected, but Crusie just can't pull off the paranormal storylines. This is just like Dogs and Goddesses and The Unfortuate Miss Fortunes. Stick to real people with extraordinary circumstances (Like Agnes and the Hitman and Bet me -they were fantastic!)

When I first began to listen, I didn't think I'd like the narrator's voices, but by the time I'd listened to a couple of chapters, I was beginning to like them, and by the end, I was very impressed. I also enjoyed the storyline, crazy as it was, and thought the characters were interesting and well-developed. In fact, I listened to it twice, because I thought I hadn't quite appreciated it enough the first time. Well worth listening to, if you like Jennifer Crusie and fantasy (I loved Dogs and Goddesses and Agnes and the Hitman, so that may give you a clue as to my tastes!)

I normally love Crusie and Mayer writing together. This time just didn't sit right with me. It's as if they put so much into the plot and not enough into the characters. I just couldn't like them. The male lead was a drunk having a huge pity party. Even after he sobered up he didn't become likable. I never did figure out the female lead's problem and why she slept around but came off as anti-social with everyone. The other characters were so one-dimensional that I just didn't care about them. Not even when some of them died.
The idea of the "untouchable" demons trapped in an amusement park and a group of employees also trapped working at the amusement park to make sure the demons stayed trapped was engrossing. That's the only thing that kept me listening when I disliked the characters so much.

I am usually a fan of Crusie and I loved, until Wild Ride, the combined writing of Mayer and Crusie. This book is similar in style to Gods and Goddesses, and I came away from the story with the same unsatisfied reaction. I believe that Crusie should NOT try to write the paranormal. It is a popular genre that authors like Harrison and Harris do spectacularly well with quirky characters and humor. Crusie makes demons and magical beings in general seem like funky wannabees, rather than the ruthless, cunning, but lovable characters we have all grown to enjoy in the paranormal genre. This is not a bad book, but it is not a great one either. Read Welcome to Temptation, if you haven't already, for a more gratifying read.

This book is 3.5 stars, not 4 but not really 3. I really liked the premise. It reminded me a lot of Carousel Tides by Sharon Lee which I liked better. I think the problem was that I was expecting more of "Bet Me" type silly and funny conversation and situation. This book takes more serious guise as an urban fantasy but unfortunately not quite in the level of Carousel Tides.

As far as the book goes it was an entertaining book with great ideas. It had everything from romance, fantasy and adventure like a food courte but not enough for a speciality restaurant. So 3.5 stars.

Angela Dawe is one of the best female narrators I've heard to date. This combined with Mayer and Crusie's story is pure pleasure that would give Strphen King a run for his money. Dialogue with the demons at the end became a little cheesy but overall this was an amazing book

I bought this book, and sat on it for a while. I had other things that seemed more compelling. Once I got into it it was completely delightful, in a carnival kind of way. It's funny and very sweet. And about making family as best as you can. I would think if you were deeply religious you could be offended. But I thought it was a hoot.Highly recommended.

I was hesitant to read this book because of all the negative reviews, but I am hear to tell you, don't pass this one up! This story has many layers of interesting characters. The science fiction elements are written nicely and the romance elements are satisfying. This is definitely outside the box of the regular Jennifer Crusie books but don't let that keep you away. A great read. Angela Dawe as always, did a really good job narrating.

The inclusion of the fantasy elements help fill out the story and give Crusies characters something interesting to do other than go to dinner, fix the sink and struggle with their mundane jobs while the get to know each other. I've read many of her books and they are all good, but nothing much happens. In this one they have danger and mystery to contend with from beginning to end. Other reviewers have complained because this book is a little bit different. But for me it was by far the most entertaining boys meet girls romp that she has ever written. I loved every moment of it.

Slow start but once I got into it...WOW. One of the best stories I have ever heard. I always thought MAB & Ethan would get together but the writers did a better job than I would. Really good story. Creepy voices which freaked me out but all in context.